Dustin Johnson has resigned his membership of the PGA Tour in order to play in the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which starts on Thursday at Centurion Club in Hertfordshire.
Johnson joined the PGA Tour in 2007 and has won $74m in his career. The former world no.1 will play all eight events of the $255m LIV Golf Series, with the 37-year-old reportedly having been signed up for a $150m fee.
“I don’t want to play for the rest of my life, this gives me an opportunity to do what I want to do,” he said at a press conference held at Centurion this morning.
In quitting the PGA Tour, the 2020 Masters champion is giving up an opportunity to play in the Ryder Cup. He has been on the winning side in two of his five appearances, including winning all five matches at last year’s record victory at Whistling Straits.
“The Ryder Cup is unbelievable and has meant a lot to me, but ultimately I decided this was best for me and my family,” he said. “All things are subject to change and hopefully at some point it will change and I will get a chance to do that again.”
As things currently stand, US Ryder Cup players must be members of the PGA of America and the PGA Tour in order to be eligible to play in the Ryder Cup. The same applies to the DP World Tour for those European players looking to play in the matches.
Johnson’s decision represents a significant about face by the 2016 US Open champion after he said in February he was committed to the PGA Tour. When asked what had changed in such a short space of time, he replied: “I thought it was best for me and my family. I resign my membership of the PGA Tour. What the consequences are going to be I can’t comment on how the Tour’s going to handle it. I can’t answer for the majors, but hopefully they’re going to allow us to play. Obviously I’m exempt for the majors. so I plan on playing there unless I hear otherwise.”
The majors are not organised by the PGA Tour and Johnson’s victory in the 2020 Masters gives him a lifetime exemption for the tournament. His 2016 US Open triumph guarantees him a spot in that championship until 2025. His Masters win also gives him a five-year exemption for The Open and US PGA Championship.
American Kevin Na also resigned his PGA Tour membership to join the LIV Golf Series, but so far no other players in the field have said that they have followed suit.
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